Carlos Nino is a curator, producer, musician, and sonic architect in equal measures, and his Carlos Nino & Friends releases bring together performances from a vast array of artists across a multitude of genres. All of these albums are improvisation-based and collage-like, but (I'm just) Chillin', on Fire feels a little more lucid than some of the other ones in the series, with a bit more structure and poetic guidance. The title implies balance and relaxation during heavy stress, and the music expresses both calmness and excitement. Regular collaborators like Nate Mercereau, Deantoni Parks, and Jamael Dean help shape the album's sound, along with several first-time guests and fellow travelers. Near the beginning of the album, V.C.R. reflects on peace, solitude, and nature during "Mighty Stillness," clearing space for energy to flow. "Love Dedication (for Annelise)" begins with rushing water and drawn-out breathing, then gains soul-jazz piano, splashing cymbals, and a simple, wordless vocal melody as Surya Botofasina speaks of unconditional, everlasting love. Laraaji and Photay both guest on the mesmerizing "Maha Rose North 102021, Breathwork," which is filled with burbling electronics, metallic clangs, and strange, obscured sounds that might be from excited babies. "Transcendental Bounce, Run to it" has rapidly knocking beats that sound like they're from an LP switched up to 45 RPM, along with encouraging words from AACM affiliate Maia. After the lush ambient waterfall "Am I Dreaming?," "Etheric Windsurfing, flips and twirls" is a more kinetically charged period of electronic glee driven by a rapidly skittering drum machine. The rest of the album continues in a meditative ambient jazz mode, with "One for Derf" capturing a particularly inspired and mournful tenor sax performance by Aaron Shaw. Andre 3000 makes an appearance on "Conversations," one of the album's most abstract pieces, adding breathy flute trills to a hallucinatory swamp of dripping, bubbling synths and free-form vocals by Cavana Lee and Mia Doi Todd. "Essence, The Mermaids Call" (with long-running, uncategorizable duo Woo) continues in this especially weird vibe, with ethereal backwards vocals reverberating around shimmering guitars. Kamasi Washington returns for the more down-to-earth cosmic jazz finale "Eightspace 082222." ~ Paul Simpson